Wrench



HfG. NORWOOD.

WRENCH. APPLICATION FILED MAR-151 1919- Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY G. NORWOOD, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR T0 MAURICE STRA S- BURGER AND WILLIAM V. STRASBURGER, BOTH OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

Application filed March 15, 1919. Serial No. 282,790.

is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in wrenches and has for its object to provide a wrench, of the type known as alligator wrenches, with a sliding or self'adjusting jaw so that the pipe, or other object to be turned, will be securely gripped and held by the jaws of the wrench while the turning is being done.

The invention consists of the novel construction and arrangement of the parts and combination of parts hereinafter more fully set forth in the following specification and pointed out in detail in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing,-

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved wrench.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the sliding jaw removed.

Fig. at is a side elevation of the sliding aw. 1 Fig. 5.is a rear end view of Fig. 4.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views thereof, 1 designates the handle of the wrench which has a jaw 2 at one end and an inclined slot 3 just back of said jaw 2. The said handle 1 has an inclined surface 4: on its upper edge back of the jaw 2 and a similar inclined surface 5 on its lower surface terminating in a shoulder 6. The sliding, or self adjusting jaw, 7 is bent to form the recess 8 in which the handle 1 fits, the upper and lower surfaces of said recess impinge against and slide upon the upper and lower inclined surfaces 4 and 5, respectively, of the said handle 1. The said jaw 7 is held to the handle 1 by the pin 9 which passes through the slot 2, and is provided wlth teeth 10. The shoulder 6 at the rear of the inclined surface 5 limits the backward movement of the sliding jaw 7 and serves as a stop when the pipe or nut is first thrust into the jaws and prevents the strain on the in 9. p The downward pressure on the handle 1 causes the teeth 10 to take into the object to be turned and as the pressure is continued on said handle it causes the sliding aw 7 to close tighter on said object. The strain of the said jaw 7 will not be on the pin 9 but upon the impinging surfaces of the recess 8 and the inclined surfaces 4: and 5 of the handle.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A wrench having a handle provided with a stationary jaw at one end thereof and an inclined slot back of said stationary jaw, sald handle having an inclined surface above and below said slot and inclining at the same angle as said slot, the lower inclined surface terminating in a shoulder at the rear end thereof, and a sliding jaw bent to form a recess in one side thereof, the upper and lower surfaces of said recess impinging against and sliding upon the said lnclined surfaces of the handle, the upper end of the sliding jaw being in vertical ahnement with the stationary jaw, and a pin and slot connection between the jaws.

2. A wrench comprising a shank, and complementary jaws at one end of said shank having gripping edges which extend at an acute angle to each other, one of said jaws being formed by an integral portion of said shank and said other jaw having in one side thereof an open sided guide recess in which said shank is seated and slidably confined, said guide recess being formed to cause said sliding jaw to slide in a direction substantially parallel with the gripping edge of said other jaw, and means for retaining said shank in said recess and limiting the movement of said sliding jaw.

3. A wrench comprising a shank, and complementary jaws at one end of said shank having gripping edges which extend at an acute angle to each other, one of said 

